Sing Haiming: "Korea-China-Japan Cooperation is Important... FTA Negotiations Must Be Accelerated"

Sing Haiming, Chinese Ambassador to Korea, Delivers Congratulatory Speech at Korea-China-Japan Cooperation Dialogue
"Reject Decoupling... Continuous Promotion of Cooperation Among Three Countries + X Needed"
Emphasizes Need for Cooperation in Emerging Fields Such as Electric Vehicles and Artificial Intelligence

Sing Haiming, the Chinese Ambassador to Korea, expressed the view that trilateral cooperation among Korea, China, and Japan should be developed so that it can benefit other countries, including the swift advancement of the Korea-China-Japan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

On the 12th, Ambassador Sing stated in his congratulatory speech at the "10th Korea-China-Japan Cooperation Dialogue" held by the East Asia Foundation at Seoul Dragon City, "We firmly reject decoupling pursued under various pretexts," and added, "We must continuously promote China-Japan-Korea+X cooperation so that trilateral cooperation can benefit other countries and regions." Specifically, he proposed swiftly advancing the Korea-China-Japan FTA negotiations while also strengthening cooperation in emerging fields such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI).

Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming delivers a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the 10th Korea-China-Japan Cooperation Dialogue titled "Exploring the Future of Sustainable Cooperation and Prosperity among the Three Countries" on the 12th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also said, "We must practice true multilateralism and open regionalism," and emphasized, "We should take the lead in implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and promote regional economic integration." RCEP is a large-scale multilateral FTA concept led by China. He repeatedly stressed, "Based on the values of cherishing peace and the principle of 'Hwaibudong' (和而不同, harmonizing without uniformity), trilateral cooperation must proceed in the right direction."

In addition, Ambassador Sing appeared to target the United States by pointing out, "In recent years, changes in the international situation and the prevalence of unilateralism, coercive politics, and Cold War thinking have brought new challenges to Korea-China-Japan cooperation," and stated, "We must oppose words and actions that push the regional area into a Cold War or hot war, and oppose bringing geopolitical conflicts or confrontations into the region."

Kim Geon, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Peace and Security Negotiation Headquarters on the Korean Peninsula, said in his keynote speech, "In the rapidly changing international situation, it is not a choice but a necessity for Korea, Japan, and China to seek sustainable cooperation." Director Kim particularly diagnosed that the three countries are not free from North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and cyberattacks, emphasizing, "Resolving the North Korean nuclear issue is the common interest of Korea, Japan, and China."